The Magic of Membership: Part 2
What is the value of a library card?
This year, with all the challenges big and small that have become part of our everyday lives, that fact resonates more deeply than ever. There has never been a better time—or more compelling reasons—to take advantage of the valuable education and entertainment resources at Capital Area District Libraries.
Resources for the Hobbyists
Lifelong learners, hobbyists and anyone curious to know more about the world will find much to appreciate at CADL. The Great Courses, for example, is an expensive lecture series with college-level courses created and taught by professors. CADL members can learn about hundreds of topics, available for free with our Kanopy streaming service, or as audiobooks via hoopla.
Subscriptions to popular services like Ancestry.com and Consumer Reports are also free to CADL members, along with access to hundreds of full-text digital magazines and newspapers. Our Pronunciator service offers go-at-your-own-pace language learning for both kids and adults.
Tangible Items and Resources
Members are not limited to online resources. Despite having to close our buildings due to the pandemic, we have developed safe and convenient ways to make our print collection available as well. CADL members can call any branch or browse our online catalog for books on science experiments, biographies, how-to manuals, cookbooks, bestselling fiction and much more.
Anyone who prefers not to browse can simply request a Grab & Go bag filled with five titles on a topic of their choice. Arranging an appointment for contactless curbside pickup is easy to do by phone or at our website. Also available for curbside pickup are several items from our Library of Things collection, including CATA bus passes and WiFi hotspots.
See where the magic comes in?
At CADL we turn library cards into hundreds of dollars worth of valuable services. In fact, the amount that families will save just by checking out one library item per week, instead of purchasing it, is over $900 a year.
CADL memberships are free to residents of our service area, which includes most of Ingham County and parts of Eaton County. Find all the details here. You can even sign up at our website, just by entering your residency information. Then sit back and let the magic begin…right here!
The magic doesn't stop here. Check out what CADL offers for students of all ages, job-seekers and career-builders!https://www.cadl.org/about/membership/getting-your-card
Scott Duimstra, CADL Executive Director